Joined: Wed Apr 05, 2006 3:25 amPosts: 1925Location: IN THE NAVY!! Yes you sail the seven seas! IN THE NAVY!! Yes you can put your mind at ease!

A quiet, dark morning found an elf sleeping in her preferred habitat - a lush forest with large trees and great canopies offering hiding spots and safe coverage. She awoke on the ground beside a great, tall tree of brown and green bark, its circumference spanning even wider than her childhood home. Her senses came to her as she realized it was still early into the morning. A dark blue fog covered her vision, obscuring even the tops of the tall trees that would soon block the late sunlight. She felt unusually awake and aware, knowing that she had not slept that long or that well that night, yet still feeling completely replenished as if she had slept for years.

Satisfied no longer with her thoughts and the feeling of tall, unkempt grass upon her back, she rose, gathering the plethora of equipment that laid by her side. From the other side of the great tree and from far outside her view, a familiar green glow emerged from the fog. A forest sprite noticed the clanking metal signaling her friend's awakening. Able to absorb the energies of the area, the sprite had no need of rest, and kept watchful eye of the rather uneventful night. It approached to tide the elfen girl good mornings, and what a good morning it was. “Let's not make a big deal out of this..!” spoke Tyzrk, who rarely felt so rejuvenated upon waking up.

Fully equipped and without much else to do, the elf was excited to carry on her travels. But the low visibility deterred her from moving from their landmarked spot, the morning precariously hiding trees about a hundred meters away. While it was not a danger to cross through the forest in these circumstances, neither bird nor bug dared chirp into the morning. It was unnatural, and warranted caution for the duo. The two reluctantly agreed to wait until the fog had lifted.

Muffled sounds bubbled through Jaedin's addled brain in small spurts. Light and darkness flitted over his eyes, disorienting him, and inducing vertigo so acute he thought his limbs might be torn from his body. Eternity stretched before him in this bleak, endless void. He recognized nothing as he fell through the darkness, cold and alone; his only truly reliable sense was the passage of time. Jaedin knew not for how long he had been like this - not precisely, anyway. But he knew his perception of time wasn't through the warped lens of a dream; whatever this was, it was real.

Slowly - so slow he wondered if years had gone by in the process - Jaedin felt solid ground. His head was still reeling, and the world around him was spinning lights and green blurs, but he had found solid ground. Standing, however, would not come for a few moments. Hesitantly, he ran his hands along the ground, feeling wet earth and gnarled roots. Soft soil yielded to his clawing; it felt cool; it felt alive

A...forest...?

Strength slowly returned to his legs; he crawled over gnarled roots and foliage until he found a proper tree trunk and, using it for a crutch, rose to his feet. With a headache still splitting his head in two, Jaedin hobbled towards...well, anything. There was no telling where he was, or how long he'd been gone; his memories remained obscured by the pain in his head.

While he had the awareness to know time had passed, Jaedin had no way of knowing how that passage had changed him. What he had been through - and the breaking of his bond with Stag and Death - had begun to take its toll. Jaedin appeared far more weathered than his ever-youthful self of old; his jet black hair, while still jaw-length and jagged, had developed deep streaks of grey to the roots. His face looked tired and old; the lines of age and time had dug deep creases into his face. All that remained of his former self were his piercing jade eyes; a bright beacon to a distance past. He stood tall, and the strength in his limbs felt only slightly diminished from their long journey through the void.

His eyes began to adjust to the area; Jaedin walked through a deep forest, thick with early morning fog. Lush, golden light beamed through the canopy above, illuminating shafts of spore-filled air in its brilliance. And there, just at the edge of his blurry vision, something new began to grow more clear - an orb or light strode through the fog, growing larger and brighter by the minute.

Sensory overload took its toll, and he stumbled to the side to lean against a nearby tree. Wearily, and with what strength his lungs could muster, he gasped:

"He....hey!"

He coughed weakly. His throat felt like an arid desert! After all, he couldn't remember drinking anything since...well, he couldn't remember.

Joined: Wed Apr 05, 2006 3:25 amPosts: 1925Location: IN THE NAVY!! Yes you sail the seven seas! IN THE NAVY!! Yes you can put your mind at ease!

Tyzrk sat and watched as the fog above her started to reveal the tops of the trees, alleviating the feeling of endless enclosure by way of the clouds. The fog was still thick, restricting their vision and discouraging their movement. The elf took time to reflect on all she had done, and with all of the people she used to know. There were many times in this silent accompaniment where she had felt the weight of her loneliness, yielding her affections solely to her traveling partner. Not that there were many people in this world worth keeping close, but it was an innate feeling all the same.

The shiny pieces of steel on her back were how she interacted with most people. And interact she did, in absence of any feeling of malice, desire, or regret. She learned to have fun with it as a means of keeping sanity, but with so many fights for survival, she never had any bigger plans for her future save for seeing the next sunrise. Any dreams she had for her life were not actually hers', but were those of a child so vividly remembered, yet no longer recognizable to her. It seemed like any true meanings or philosophical understandings of life were fading off into the fog, and as her mind was brought back to reality, her eyes found at least one thing that persisted in the distance.

It was a figure of a person, surely making the tread over to the mountainous tree. Xhercfa's glowy, spritely appearance has done much throughout the years to give them the disadvantage. They were used to it at this point - the sprite did not even bother to move - but were still on guard as they were every time they met someone in such isolation. Tyzrk figured he was much further away than he really seemed, as the time it took for him to approach was much longer than anticipated. He seemed to slump over just as the color of his skin began to be visible. He asked for answers, and as she looked upon the form of this man, she wanted the same. She took a breath, and spoke out into the fog.

"We're in one of the many forests of the elven region. Caravans and tourists take the main road about ten miles down from here," though in which direction she could not tell. Although the fog covered most of the man's midsection, what he was wearing suspiciously like armor of some kind. Her trained eyes could spot markings signaling that it was not in fact regular clothing, mostly because it resembled her own.

"...Thieves, raiders, and lost children traverse this place." The details of his garments she couldn't make out, but the man clearly knew more than he was leading on to believe. She wasn't going to get suckered into a trap so obvious, if it were one. Before she even knew it, she was instinctively standing in straight posture. Her stance was slightly diagonal to the man, with her left foot leading in front so that she could hide her right hand resting on the cool metal of her weapons strapped to her back. She could have kept a neutral stance, feigning weakness and not giving away her intentions should he be able to see her hand reaching back, but the situation demanded immediate access to her weaponry should there be more where this seemingly sickly man seemingly appeared from.

Last Jaedin had checked, elves and forests weren't mainstays of the after life. And, besides that, he didn't exactly remember dying. At least, not in the traditional sense. His heart was still beating, so he carried life; the forest air felt cool, which meant his body still radiated heat; air filled his lungs. If this was death, it certainly wasn't what he'd expected.

"...Thieves, raiders, and lost children traverse this place."

Tyzrk's cautious jab at his intentions roused Jaedin from his musings. Jaedin didn't recognize Tyzrk; she seemed testy, as if itching for a fight. He patted himself down without thinking, instinctively evaluating his options. But, there weren't many options to be had. His armor, a lifelong companion, did not adorn his body. He wore simple, canvas pants; a grey, hooded cloak hung loosely over his shoulders; weathered, functional boots helped keep him on hit feet on the soft soil; and a simple, black tank top clung to his torso. But as his hands traveled over his body, one obvious, terrifying fact became obvious.

He was unarmed.

Of course he didn't have his sword. As much those memories pained him, he'd had what felt like eons for that fact to sink in. But the other tools of his trade - hookshot, shurikens, assorted deadly knick-knacks - were missing. He felt the sour twinge of irony run through him; for a man whose reputation included a veritable kitchen sink of weapons, to die here would surely please some mischievous god somewhere. He had only his fists and his wits, and one of those was still on the fritz; pain continued to pound on his head like an incessant, angry neighbor.

"I'm no thief. No raider. And certainly not a child!"

With renewed vigor, Jaedin pushed against the tree to stand without assistance. The morning fog seemed on its way down for the afternoon; the imperceptible increase in the air's temperature would keep it at bay until the chill of the evening brought on its return. With obvious effort, Jaedin took several labored steps towards his new acquaintance. He stopped short of a threatening approach, giving this woman - her anatomy became clear to him - a safe berth.

"I'm no tourist. I'm not traversing anything. I have no business in this accursed place."

He took a moment to catch his breath. With renewed vigor came an elevated heart rate, something Jaedin hadn't experienced for a long time. If even this level of effort was taking a toll, what chance would he have in open confrontation? A diplomat he certainly was not.

Joined: Wed Apr 05, 2006 3:25 amPosts: 1925Location: IN THE NAVY!! Yes you sail the seven seas! IN THE NAVY!! Yes you can put your mind at ease!

"I'm the same as you: a nobody." Certainly not a helpful or welcoming response, but she did not yet know who she could be dealing with.

The fog began to clear, giving vision of the beautiful trees afar. To her surprise, what she thought had been tight padding and armor turned out to be nothing more than a casual traveling outfit misrepresenting the wearer's actual width. One doubt began another, with Tyzrk asking herself if she was only seeing what she wanted to see; if he really was a threat to begin with. The agitation she caused to stir in the man was amusing, though. His posture made him out to be more of a drunkard than a weakling - faking or not. Perhaps he drank the poisonous sap of the prickly tree? It's prickly for a reason.

The man approached closer. An all-too familiar sense of unease pulsed in her chest. There was no way of knowing what he was capable of, or who could be with him. There was also no way of knowing if she was simply pissing off someone who wasn't even worth her time. But at the very least, she knew she had the upper hand in bantering, and figured to push her lead while she could.

"Unless you are not," Tyzrk said, annoyingly reflecting questions in case he felt more like talking about himself. "What titles have you? You sure went through a lot of trouble to end up here. It'd be a shame if you were not able to complete your quest."

Whereas he looked fluid and pained in his movements, Tyzrk stood clenching-ly still. Her body made no movements as she tried to gauge the reaction of each of her words. She was worried that she may have been mistaken again, only looking to self-confirm that the man had dubious intent. It certainly seemed less likely with each ungraceful step the man took.

Her mind was suddenly conscious of how tense she was. She took a quick breath, and dropped her shoulders. "Trust me, I'm more worldly than an elf in a forest may seem - I might have even heard of your hailing town."

With this blatant probing and provoking, he was going to make some sort of mistake somewhere. She could just feel it.

"I may as well be a nobody," he muttered to himself. "For all that it matters now..."

Tyzrk wore her disquietude on her sleeve. She held herself stiff as a board, as if she feared Jaedin might pounce on her any second. (Truth be told, in ages gone by, he might've. But now, given the wear on his body and the pain in his mind, such aggression seemed unwarranted. Besides, he was unarmed. And she hadn't yet intimated any violent intent). With a deep breath and long sigh, Jaedin stood upright and spread his arms wide with open hands; it would be obvious he carried no weapons. Hopefully it would show he meant her no harm.

"I am unarmed," he said, in what he hoped was a reassuring voice, "And I have gone to no lengths to be here. My trouble was indeed great, but that is none of your concern. I'm not here for some quest. I don't even know why I'm here in the first place. I just...am. You haven't interrupted me on some fantastical adventure. There is no quest. No princess. No beast to slay. This is real life."

He chuckled to himself, which brought on a small coughing fit. He could really use a drink.

"You want a title? How about 'murderer' or 'bastard', maybe? 'Heathen', perhaps? 'Immortal' is a no longer part of who I am anymore. So, if this is some joke of yours - to corner me here, as I am, just to strike me down - you can drop the act."

Weariness dripped from his words. Not just fatigue from years of falling through darkness or not eating; this weariness went to his very core. Life - or, more accurately, Death - had finally worn Jaedin down, both physically and mentally. Valiant and vigorous as he had fought, Jaedin's campaign had been an uphill battle in the rain. Alone. Backwards. Against the very forces of nature. In his hubris, Jaedin had thought himself better than Death. That he could somehow beat Him. Cheat their deal. But with Stag out of the picture - the thorn in Jaedin's side that would never truly be gone - Death had come to collect. And he had. And as sure as he knew sun rose in the east, Jaedin knew Death would come again.

Shaking his head for a moment to bring himself out of his moment of reflection, Jaedin's expression became grim. His weariness gave birth to a slow-burning anger; a drive to never go down without a fight. Even without his pact, Jaedin was a force with which to be reckoned. He had clawed his way to life before, and he would not let go of his latest chance at rebirth now.

"But rest assured," he said, letting his words trail for a few moments. Tyzrk was not the only audience whom his words might reach. "I will not go quietly into this night."

Joined: Wed Apr 05, 2006 3:25 amPosts: 1925Location: IN THE NAVY!! Yes you sail the seven seas! IN THE NAVY!! Yes you can put your mind at ease!

It appears her words had some form of effect on him. His reaction was a bit startling to say the least. If titles revered no respect to this man, then there was little need to share with him her name. The discontent set between the two was obvious, and it was probably honestly her fault. She still had no reason to trust him for his very presence. He showed himself in an open stance, his clothes not sufficient for hiding any weaponry save for possibly a fruit knife. It was a futile effort to ease the tensions of the elf though; she has seen men without blades casting fire and lightning, or overpowering her with animal shapeshifters, pieces of paper, and even bare fists alone. But she took his gesture as a sign of good faith. At least, she was about to.

Tyzrk turned her body to fully face him as he did to her. As she observed his spoken and physical language, she felt like she couldn't get a read on him. So far, this man was a complete contradiction - guarded, but brash; strange, yet familiar; unarmed, but threatening. It was as if he was not supposed to be here for one reason or another. Her guise of a rowdy taunter fell as the man gained his wits, giving some rather illuminating, if not disturbing responses.

"And I have gone to no lengths to be here...

"I don't even know why I'm here in the first place..."

Well, she could believe this much of the truth from him, at least. In fact, it was probably the first thing she could believe all day. A shroud covered him, not of the fading morning mist, but a dark, murky air of mystery. Tyzrk found it worthwhile to stick around and try to find out what it was. But in the meantime, she did not return his gesture. His last statement in particular showed his sharpened claws to say the very least, definitely putting her on edge and causing her to carefully consider where her feet and words would be placed next.

"Only spirits truly run adrift," spoke the elf - a suddenly cautious voice riding along the traveler's rather dramatic tone. A spirit, hmm..? It would certainly explain the unnatural atmosphere and circumstances that found her today. The green forest sprite perked at the thought of a lost soul standing before them. If it really was an apparition, what chance did they have of actually fighting it? Tyzrk did her best to mask any reaction to the shock of chilling energy shivering down her back. She found comfort only in the weight of her weapons, and her companion beside her. Her arms were still by her side, muscles never clenching but not quite at ease. With a quick and instinctive motion reaching behind her, she could be ready to fire at a moment's notice.

With eyes fixed on the man, Tyzrk's demeanor changed completely to that of stern, emotionless vigilance. "Tell me, what is it that you seek? If not in this forest, then where?!"